Tennis-racket



(No Model.)

F. W. TAYLOR.

INVENTOR WITNESSES:

tUNrrnn Starts ATENT rrron TENNIS- RACKET.

SPECIPICATION forming part oi' Letters Patent No. 335.656, datedFebruary 9, 1 6.

Application filed July 29, 1885.

To all whom it may cocern;

Be it known that I, FREDERICK W. TAY- Lo R, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident oi' the city and County ofPhiladelphia, and Stateof Pennsylvania, have invented anew and useful Improvement inTennis-Rackets, of which the following is a speeifieation.

The object of my invention is to furnish a ten n is raeket by n eans ofwhich a certain class of players will be more readily enabled to strikeballs which bounce close to the grou nd, so as to cause them to riseover the net, and to strike certain balls which are above the leve] ol'their heads in such a way as to drive them to the ground in the oppositecourt from that in which they stand.

In th 3 acconpanying drawings, forming part oi' this specification, andin which similar lett rs ofrut'erenccindicatesiuilnrparts throughut theseveral views, Figures l and 2 are a front and side elevation of theordinary tennis-racket; l.`igs. 3, 4, 5, G, 7, 8, 9, and 10, front andside elevations of various forms of my improved racket.

A is the handle of and O the head.

In Figs. 1 and 2, which are a front and side elc'vation ol" a tennisracket as at present constructed, the axis or center line of the handleA lies in the plane of the net-work of the head C. Certain players havediffioulty in using a racket ol" this form when the ball bounces closethe racket, B the neck,

i to the ground or passes above the level of their heads, as the nannerin which they hold the racket is such that in st-iking the ball in thesecases the ball is not driven to the oppo site court, as is desired andintended, but passes froni the racket in such a way as either to strikethe net or fall outside of the opposite In my raeket, which is intendedto the axis or center line a greater or less angle court. obviate thisditliculty, of the handle A makes Serial No. 171943. (Ne model.)

with the head C. The amount of this anglei not material to my invention,for with diifer ent players it will probably be necessary t vary it.

Figs. 3 to 10 represent front and side eleva tions of various forms ofmy improved racket In Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, and 10 I have fnrnishec theracket, at the point where the handle A joins the neck, with a joint,hinge, or pivot, D, by means of which the angle forned by the axs el'the handle and the plane of the head may be varied. It Will beunderstood, however, that it is not essential to the workng oi my racketthat there should be any such h nge or any means for varying this angle,tor it s probable that most ol' ny improved rackets will have thegreater part of the frame ot the head, the ncek, and the handle all madeout ol'a single piece ol' Wood bentinto the proper form.

In Figs. 7 and 8 the head C of the racket s shown pivoted to the neck.

In Figs. 9 and 10 the handle A is curved, so that its axis is at anangle witli the center plane of the head C. I

There may be many nore ways of securng the head of the racket to thehandle without departing from the spirit ol' ny invention, and it willbe understood that I do not desire to linit myself to any particularmethod oi' attachment or adjustnent.

I claim as new and desire ters Patent- A tennis-raeket in which thecenter line or axis of the handle is set at an angle with the centerplane ol" the network of the head, sub

stantially :s set l'orlh.

' FR EDERICK XV. TAYLOR.

to secure by Leti tn esses:

CLARENCE M. CLARD, GUTLLIAM AUTSEN.

